TEAC joins the DVD-R/W club

TEAC is kind of an odd ball in the optical storage sector. It has been around for a long time, but it seems that it has never been a very popular brand. On the other hand it has always been one of the most respected CD-R manufacturers, up there with Yamaha and Plextor. TEAC also introduces their first DVD-R drive. And yes, TEAC also has chosen the "minus", which isn't a negative thing at all.(See our glossary for DVD+R)

With the new TEAC DV-W50E (4x DVD-R, 2x DVD-RW, 16x CD-R and 8x CD-RW), recording DVDs on
the PC is now quicker and easier than ever. TEAC brings the new burner to the market
together with the award-winning Studio software, version 8 from Pinnacle, which has
comprehensive video editing and enhanced publishing functions. Creating diapresentations
and holiday or company DVDs is consequently made significantly easier.

The TEAC DV-W50E burns DVD-Rs at 4x speed and DVD-RWs at 2x speed. CD-Rs are burnt at 16x
speed, CD-RWs at 8x speed. In addition to current CD and CD-R/RW formats, the recorder
supports DVD-ROM and DVD-Video (single + dual layer) as well as DVD-R and DVD-RW.
According to the producers, transfer rates of up to 5.54 MB/s are reached in the DVD-R
mode, 2.77 MB/s in DVD-RW mode, 2.4 MB/s in CD-R and 1.2 MB/s in the CD-RW mode. Access
times are 140 ms in the DVD-ROM mode and 130 ms with CD-ROMs.

The ATAPI/IDE drive has a 2 MB buffer memory and can be installed horizontally or
vertically in the computer.